Reminiscence therapy helps individuals with dementia to remember past experiences through their five senses – sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound. This includes going through photo albums, singing songs, or even discussing a particular life event. In addition to remembering one’s youth or past experiences, there are plenty of other benefits of reminiscence therapy.
Improves Self-Esteem
It’s common to feel like aging comes with many challenges. With so many changes going on in your body and within your environment, reminiscence therapy can help you cope better as you age. You get to recreate your life’s meaning by being connected to your past self. Walking down memory lane of one’s achievements and successes throughout their life and recounting them to someone who is listening can help them feel heard and understood, which increases self-esteem. Through this, individuals may feel more confident and eager to share more life stories, in turn improving their condition.
Improves Communication Skills
Having your loved ones share their life experiences can increase their ability to communicate well. The cognition of a person with dementia deteriorates down the road, although the pace at which this happens differs for everyone. When your loved one talks about their past, their memory is strengthened and familiar or new emotions arise. Research shows that this activity helps new pathways to form in the brain that can improve one’s communication skills. At the same time, it provides an opportunity for them to practice communicating in a way that matters to them.
Eliminates Boredom
Other than providing relief, having conversations to reminisce about past experiences with others can help those who are less mobile to relive their more active days and be more socially engaged. Since older adults have a higher tendency to shy away from social settings especially if they are dealing with mobility issues, dementia, or other illnesses, it’s important that their family members encourage them to find more opportunities for a more active social life. This will help to improve their mood and also make them feel less bored going about their day.
Preserves Family History
It is common for people to know little about the lives of their grandparents and their great-grandparents. We tend to forget they used to live lives like us too and have many interesting stories that can bring joy to others. Recounting their past experiences can even unearth some valuable lessons that could inspire generations to come. Preserving family history by regularly sharing stories during celebrations or festivities can be a form of bonding for the different generations in a household.
Why Choose Seaton Chesterfield?
If you find your loved one craving a more active social life, our retirement community may have just what they need to feel more fulfilled and enriched. From helping those suffering from memory-related conditions to individuals who require little assistance to live to their fullest, you can rely on our professional experts to provide only the highest quality care to your loved ones.
To learn more about assisted living and memory care programs in Seaton Chesterfield, contact us today.
